Strange Maps

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A vintage map illustration showing the Arctic region, including parts of northern Europe, Greenland, and surrounding seas, with radial lines converging at the North Pole.
White text on a light grey background reads "Strange Maps" in a large, serif font.
The world, seen sideways.

Most maps show the world as something to be navigated. Strange Maps reveals the worlds humans have imagined.

Since 2006, Frank Jacobs has been collecting and interpreting maps that do more than chart geography or political borders. These maps — often obscure, beautiful, funny, and deeply revealing — each tell a story, usually one that’s more about how we see ourselves than where we are.

Published as a book in 2009 and a Big Think column since 2010, Strange Maps draws on a steady stream of reader submissions and rare discoveries. Together, they offer a way of seeing the world from unfamiliar angles, where cartography becomes culture, argument, and art.

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Frank Jacobs is a journalist whose work explores how culture, history, and imagination shape the way we see the world.

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strange maps
How to restore your online sanity, one webcam at a time
The world webcam map, a defunct format from Web 1.0, is a foil to today’s algorithmic internet.

by Frank Jacobs

Map showing live camera locations across North and South America, Europe, and Africa, marked with blue numbered circles and black camera icons. The interface includes search and navigation options.
Everything Articles
Strange Maps
The loneliest roads in America
If you find yourself on one of these roads, it might be a while before you see another fellow traveler.
Frank Jacobs
A map of the world with a circle around it.
Strange Maps
Lemuria, the weirdest continent that never existed
To this day, one cult believes that Lemuria was real, and that its people left us the sacred wisdom to revive their advanced civilization.
Frank Jacobs
A map showing the location of the arctic ocean.
Strange Maps
No, the Gulf Stream isn’t going to collapse
If we're going to discuss oceanography and climate change, we should at least identify the currents correctly.
Frank Jacobs
a map of the united states with the words 70 % of canada.
Strange Maps
Most Canadians live south of Seattle and other mental map surprises
Reject your Mental Map Oversimplifications.
Frank Jacobs
Trafalgar Square Pyramid
Strange Maps
Canceled megaprojects: Alternative visions of New York and London
Take a look at the Times Square Totem, the Trafalgar Square Pyramid, and other landmarks that were never built.
Frank Jacobs
A collage featuring an image of the Stasi Records Archive and a map of Europe with the shape of Germany blacked out.
Strange Maps
Why Germany is a blank spot on Google’s Street View
There are good historical reasons why Germans are suspicious of surveillance.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
What the world will look like 4°C warmer
Will your grandchildren live in cities on Antarctica?
Frank Jacobs